Hundreds of corporate employees are being laid off at Amazon, The Seattle Times reports.

Here are four things to know about the layoffs.

1. The cuts will affect several hundred employees at the e-commerce giant's Seattle headquarters. Hundreds of other employees in Amazon's global operations will be affected, a person familiar with the layoffs told The Seattle Times.

2. The layoffs, expected to be completed in the next few weeks, are primarily taking place in Amazon's consumer retail arm. Several Amazon employees told the publication rapid expansion in the segment during the past two years left some units with too many staff members. In recent months, Amazon rolled out hiring freezes across many units.

3. Amazon told The Seattle Times, "As part of our annual planning process, we are making head count adjustments across the company — small reductions in a couple of places and aggressive hiring in many others. For affected employees, we work to find roles in the areas where we are hiring."

4. Amazon employed 5,000 people at its Seattle headquarters in 2010. After a recent hiring spree, the company had 40,000-plus employees in Seattle.